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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

SS MP threatens to ‘bomb’ political opponents

Journalists staged a protest outside Balasaheb Bhavan against Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Dina Patil, condemning his alleged remarks against members of the media. Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Mumbai North-East MP Sanjay Dina-Patil – who recently defected to the ruling ally Shiv Sena apparently went haywire on Thursday, hurling bomb threats at political opponents, spitting expletives at protestors, warning jounos of assault and warning anybody “to do whatever you can”, sparking a massive political...

SS MP threatens to ‘bomb’ political opponents

Journalists staged a protest outside Balasaheb Bhavan against Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Dina Patil, condemning his alleged remarks against members of the media. Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Mumbai North-East MP Sanjay Dina-Patil – who recently defected to the ruling ally Shiv Sena apparently went haywire on Thursday, hurling bomb threats at political opponents, spitting expletives at protestors, warning jounos of assault and warning anybody “to do whatever you can”, sparking a massive political furore. Elected on a Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket, Dina-Patil lost his temper when he was questioned on his daughter and SS (UBT) Municipal Corporator Rajool Patil who went to meet ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray to express her allegiance despite her father’s defection to the Shiv Sena led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. Instead of replying, Dina-Patil, reported to be short-tempered, blew his top and reacted aggressively with abuses: “Record this on camera… I have spoken to you for 2 minutes, I respect you, you should do the same… Don’t mess with me. If you return here, I will thrash and send you back. I am saying this in front of the police, you do whatever you want.” Just a couple of days ago, Dina-Patil had threatened SS (UBT) workers protesting against him. “Anybody who tries to cross my path, I will send them to the crematorium or the hospital. We have committed five murders in the past. If you protest against me, I will throw bombs on you and enter your house to hammer you.” As these threats and unparliamentary language stoked a massive political row, SS (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut shot off a letter to Mumbai Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti, demanding that the police probe all the statements of Dina-Patil and ‘book him for murder’. On the alleged bomb threats, Raut said if Dina-Patil had acquired the explosives from some terrorist organisation, he should be arrested under the dreaded Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, dealing with terrorism, terming it as a matter of national security. Political Explosion The matter escalated into a full-fledged political brawl with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders like Congress’ Nana Patole, Vijay Wadettiwar; SS (UBT)’s Aditya Thackeray, Sunil Raut, Sushma Andhare; Nationalist Congress Party (SP)’s Supriya Sule, Dr. Jitendra Awhad, Jayant R. Patil, and many more, attacking Dina-Patil and demanding that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must act in the matter. Aditya challenged Dina-Patil to instantly quit as MP, recontest in the name of Shinde or PM Narendra Modi and then see the outcome. Andhare said till the MPs were with SS (UBT), they were cultured but after walking over to the Shiv Sena, they have lost all their etiquettes or fear of the laws. Faced with an embarrassing backlash, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Shiv Sena’s Omprakash Babarao alias Bachhu Kadu quickly tendered unconditional apologies to the media on behalf of Dina-Patil, while Minister Girish Mahajan attempted to equate the outburst with recent strong language used by Sanjay Raut, who had said that “Shinde has given birth to 6 traitors”. On Raut’s letter to the CoP, a defiant Dina-Patil declared: “Whatever I said, I did it openly. If the police feel any action is to be taken against me, I am ready to face the consequences.” He again slammed the media persons for "thrusting microphones at him”, going to the ‘other side’ (the MVA) and then returning to quiz him, prompting the TV Journalists Association and other media groups to protest and seek action against the belligerent MP. “Has the MP been provided (Y-Plus) security at public expense to threaten the media which is doing its duty or the political protesters?” asked an irate TV reporter. Dina-Patil launched a broadside against the MVA and dared those who dubbed him a ‘traitor’ to come to his constituency without any security. On the incident of five murders, he airily said: “It had happened before I was born”, but Raut retorted claiming to possess details of all those alleged killings. “I don’t need an entourage of 10 vehicles as I rule the hearts of the people. I have aligned myself with ‘real men’. Shinde Saheb has commended me for my stand,” he claimed. Fadnavis and Shinde commented briefly on the matter and later were closeted in a meeting to discuss the fallout of Dina-Patil’s utterances especially after the media launched strong protests in different parts of Mumbai.

Modi slams Congress over Waqf Act opposition, accuses party of muslim appeasement and ignoring Ambedkar's legacy



Launching a scathing attack on the Congress over its opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the party of appeasing Muslim fundamentalists and said its resistance to the new legislation is proof of that. He also questioned why the Congress does not appoint a Muslim party president or allocate 50 per cent of its election tickets to Muslim candidates.


The Prime Minister made these remarks during the inauguration of the Hisar airport in Haryana, calling it a major milestone in the state’s developmental progress. On the occasion of BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, the Dalit icon and architect of the Constitution, Modi said his government draws inspiration from Ambedkar's efforts. "Every decision and policy is dedicated to Babasaheb Ambedkar," he said.


Criticising the Congress, he alleged that the party had reduced the Constitution to a tool for staying in power. "During the Emergency, the spirit of the Constitution was killed to retain power. The Constitution talks about a secular civil code, but Congress never implemented it. Today, a uniform civil code has been implemented in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, the Congress is opposing this. Congress never bothered to check if the benefits of reservation reached SC/ST and OBC communities," the Prime Minister said.


He also accused the Congress of disrespecting Ambedkar during his lifetime. "We must never forget what the Congress did to Babasaheb Ambedkar. While he was alive, the party insulted him repeatedly. They made him lose elections twice. Congress wanted to uproot him; they conspired to keep him out of the system. After his death, they even tried to erase his memory. Babasaheb stood for equality, but Congress spread the virus of vote-bank politics throughout the country," he said.


Modi reiterated that Ambedkar had rejected the idea of religion-based reservations. "Congress's appeasement politics has harmed the Muslims too. Congress has only made some fundamentalists happy. The rest of the society remained uneducated and poor. The biggest proof of this wrong approach is in the Waqf law," he said.


The Prime Minister alleged that the Congress made arbitrary amendments to the Waqf law for political gains, thereby distorting constitutional principles. "I want to ask these vote-bank hungry leaders, if you care about the Muslims, why doesn't Congress make a Muslim its party president. Give 50 per cent tickets in Lok Sabha election to Muslims. If they win, they would put forward their views. But no, they won't give (Muslims) anything in the Congress. They will snatch the rights of citizens. Their intention was never to do anything good for anyone," he said.


He further pointed out that a large portion of land across the country is designated as Waqf property. "If Waqf properties had been used honestly, Muslim youths wouldn't need to earn a livelihood from repairing bicycle punctures. But only a few land mafia benefited from these properties. This mafia was looting lands belonging to Dalit, backward sections and widows. The loot of the poor will stop after these changes to the Waqf law. Under the new Waqf law, land or property belonging to tribals cannot be touched by the Waqf Board. Poor Muslims and Pasmanda Muslims will get their rights. This is real social justice," he said.


Responding to the Prime Minister, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that BR Ambedkar always emphasized the value of education and accused the current government of failing to follow his vision. "They (BJP) only speak against Congress, Nehru ji and all we have done until now. But, I ask what have they done till now and which of Babasaheb's principles have they adopted?" he asked.


Citing the Women’s Reservation Act, which mandates 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, Kharge said, "When the Women's Reservation Bill was passed 2 years ago, the Congress demanded that it be implemented immediately. Our demand was that SC, ST and OBC women be given reservation in it. This is our objective. We have been fighting for this for a long time," he said.

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